Matthias Hennig (Institute for Adaptive and Neural Computation, School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh) | Neural homeostasis: what is stable and what changes?

Abstract

Neurons control their activity through various homeostatic processes that modulate intrinsic excitability and synaptic strength following chronic changes in activity. A common interpretation of the current experimental data is that neurons attempt to maintain their activity levels within a set-point range to stabilize function and network dynamics. There is however no direct evidence for this set-point hypothesis, and in this context it is also unclear why homeostasis involves multiple parallel pathways and different targets. Here I will discuss recent theoretical work that addresses these issues. In particular, I will highlight differences between the effects of homeostatic processes acting either locally or globally, both at the level of a neuron and network.